Innovations in Family Forest Certification

What's Happening and What's Needed

Certification has increasingly become common practice for owners and managers of large forest holdings. Industrial interests, state and county land management agencies, forest license holders, land trusts, and even TIMOs and REITs in North America are participating in forest certification programs. However, even as  certification on these large ownerships continues to expand, a cost effective certification solution for small landowners in the United States continues to be elusive. A previous Dovetail Report explored the specifics of both the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and American Tree Farm System (ATFS) programs and their relevance to small forest ownerships. This current report on Innovations in Family Forest Certification provides information about recent research related to the certification of family forestlands in the United States, efforts being made by the ATFS and FSC programs to improve access to certification for small ownerships, and some key barriers and areas where continued effort is needed.